Founder of Jamaat-e-Islami: Abul A'la Maududi

Abul A'la Maududi was born on the 3rd of Rajab, 1321 Hijri (1903 CE) in Aurangabad, Pakistan, in the home of lawyer Ahmad Hasan Maududi. In his own words, Maududi claimed his academic qualification to be that of an Islamic scholar, equivalent to intermediate-level education. Due to his father's poor financial condition, he was unable to pursue higher education. However, from an early age, he had a habit of writing and engaging with literature. Gradually, he turned this habit into a means of earning a livelihood and began promoting his misguided ideology. In 1918, he started working as a journalist for a publication called Madina, which was published from Bijnor.

To spread his erroneous beliefs more broadly, he began editing a regular monthly magazine titled Tarjumanul Qur'an. Then, on August 26, 1941, he founded a group named Jamaat-e-Islami in Lahore with the strong intent to give his misguided ideology a political and national platform.

Abul A'la Maududi (1903–1979) was the founder of the Pakistan-based political party Jamaat-e-Islami, which now has established religious-political platforms in many countries across the world. Initially, Maududi opposed the idea of a separate Pakistani state. However, by the 1940s, he changed his stance and started striving to establish his authority within Pakistan. Instead of presenting Islam as a comprehensive way of life, he began promoting it as a political system. Ignoring Islam’s fundamental principles and teachings, Maududi focused primarily on governance and what came to be known as Maududism.

Maududi stated, "Religion is the name of governance and authority; the laws of governance are Sharia, and worship means following the traditions of the ruling system."

Islam is a complete code of life. Throughout the ages, the Awliya-e-Kiram (friends of Allah) have invited people to the shade of this Islam and guided them toward salvation. In the Indian subcontinent, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (RA) brought 9 million people to Islam. In Bangladesh, notable saints such as Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA), Hazrat Shah Paran (RA), Shah Ali Baghdadi (RA), Shahid Adam (RA), Killa Shah (RA), Shah Sondor, Amanat Shah, and Shah Makhdum Ruposh (RA) raised the flag of Islam. Under their banner, countless people found the path to salvation. The path of the saints was the path of Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Straight Path).

However, throughout history, enemies disguised as Muslims have emerged from various regions and spread their own ideologies under the name of Islam, leading people astray. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab Najdi was one such conspirator. This Najdi Wahhabi allegedly collaborated with the British spy Hempher in many un-Islamic activities, which were recorded in Hempher’s diary. During the Second World War, that diary came into the possession of the Germans, and later, a German magazine named Isbaghul exposed the un-Islamic activities of Wahhab Najdi.

Following this ideological lineage, Abul A'la Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, began spreading confusing and misleading beliefs under the guise of Islam.